Remind Me...

Chapter 4 - Dancing in the moonlight

Lillian’s POV

To say that I hardly slept on Friday night would be an understatement.  To say that I was nervous would be a complete lie.

I was freaking out.

I’ve been on dates before, but Daniel was just so different from any other guy I’d ever met before.  I had a feeling he was going to be better than my wildest dreams and I didn’t want to mess it up.  Therefore the freak out.

“Calm down, Lils!” my ever steadfast friend Faith was trying to get me to stop fidgeting as she was busy fixing my hair in soft curls around my face and shoulders.  I loved the look, it made me feel so feminine.  Faith had brought me a lovely, long light yellow sundress which hugged my figure in all the right places.  She swore the dress did nothing for her but looked great on me.  We were pairing it with jewellery, bangles and comfy ballet flats, all in light blue, with a jean jacket for when it gets a little chilly later. 

“We need comfort rather than glam at a barn dance,” Faith had commented when she suggested the flats.  “There will be dust and hay, but a lot of fun, so be prepared girl.”

I was riding with Faith and her dad, while Daniel was coming with his family and meeting me at the dance as he had to help load the extra bales of hay his family were sponsoring as ‘chairs’ for the event.  Reaching the farm on the outskirts of town were the dance was held, I got out of the pick-up truck, a vehicle most commonly driven in this farming town, with a babbling Lilly jumping out behind me.  Reaching for my jacket in Faith’s hand, she nudged my shoulder and bopped her head in the direction of the barn.

There, leaning against the door, was sexy-as-hell Daniel, lazily waiting on me to arrive. 

Spotting me next to Faith, he stepped away from the door and started walking towards me with a smirk on his face.  Very confident of his own abilities, this one.

My heartbeat sped up as he stopped in front of me.  “Hey, Lillian,” he smiled, taking my hand, turning it over and placing a soft kiss against my palm.  I shuddered at the touch of his lips on my warm skin and involuntarily closed my eyes for a second to savour the feeling.

“H… Hi Daniel.”

“Well,” he grinned, “are you just going to stand there and gawk at me?  Or are we going to go enjoy our date?”

I laughed and nodded my head, before he took my hand fully in his and guided me towards the already filling barn.  People were milling around, talking, laughing, eating and dancing to real country music and I loved everything about it.  Daniel introduced me to people everywhere we went, before stopping on the outskirts of the dance floor to look at the dancing couples.  “You ready?”

To my relief, I was no stranger to dancing and could probably hold my own out there, so yeah I was ready for this.  Rather exited too.  I grabbed his hand, laughing as I dragged him out on the dance floor.

We found our rhythm and footing easily, gliding in between couples and Daniel twirling me every chance he got, making me laugh.  I loved the feeling of his arms holding me close, his body touching mine with every move he made.  He talked to me over the music, asking me questions about myself and answering some of mine, keeping our easy conversation going while never missing a step.  I noticed quite a few dirty looks shot my way from some of the single girls lined against the walls, waiting for partners to dance with.  I was dancing with their most eligible bachelor.  I might as well have put a target on my back.

Feeling parched and a bit hungry about an hour into our dancing spree, Daniel took me in search of food and drink.  I heard Lilly’s laugh close by and we made our way over to her and some of the younger townspeople chatting away close to the tables laden with food, glad to find my friend so easily in this crowd.  I recognized some of them, having been introduced to them during my time here already, so it was easy to join in the group.

Daniel left me to chat to Faith, coming back with 2 plates of food, before leaving again to find something to drink.  He was such a gentleman and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world to be spending tonight in his company.  We laughed and danced, chatted to our friends and danced some more.   We found we had a lot in common, with Daniel being an attentive listener as well as an interesting, witty conversationalist.

By the end of the evening I was giddily happy, totally danced out… and completely in love with Daniel.  Everywhere he touched me, I tingled.  Every time he had to lean in to speak close to my ear because the music was too loud, I shivered. Every time he smiled his slow, warm smile at me, I felt faint.  If there was love at first, well… dance, then I’d found it. 

Somehow I knew… I just knew… that the feeling was mutual.  Maybe it was the way his hands lingered on my skin after a dance finished or the way he held my hand when we walked to our friends’ table.  Maybe it was the way he only paid attention to me and none of the other girls.  Maybe it was the way he would simply stare into my eyes, before smiling his brilliant smile when I was telling him something.

I was a total gonner.

Daniel drove me back to the boarding house I was staying at at the end of the evening, opening the pick-up trucks’ door for me and walking me to the front door slowly while holding my hand.

“So,” he started as we stopped at the door, pulling me closer to him and adjusting my jacket around my shoulders to keep out the chill.

“So,” I answered, smiling up into his beautiful face, enjoying our last few minutes together.

“Thanks for being my date,” he said, pushing a piece of stray hair behind my ear, his hand lingering on my cheek as if he didn’t want to let me go.

“It was fun,” I giggled, “though I’m sure you didn’t have to win a competition just to get a date for tonight.  Any of the girls who were ogling you yesterday would have gone with you tonight.”  O great, I sounded a bit jealous there. 

Daniel’s eyes shone with laughter.  “I didn’t want to go with any of them, Lilly.  I wanted to go with you,” he said, stepping closer to me still , closing the last little gap between us.

Gulp.

“Oh, well I…” I started, before Daniel’s hand on my cheek shifted to my chin to tip it up, effectively lifting my face to receive his soft lips unto my own.  He kissed me softly, tenderly, taking his time and making me feel light headed in the process.  The kiss ended too soon for my liking, but he stayed close, looking me in the eyes and holding my body close to his own as he rested his forehead against my own.

“Goodnight, my Lilly-flower.  Thank you for tonight.  I’ll see you soon.”  He pecked me on the lips again since I was too stunned to say anything back, before turning and leaving me to open the door of the boarding house and enter by myself.

I reached my room in a daze and smiling broadly.  Falling onto my bed, I held a trembling hand to my still tingling lips.  Wow.  Tonight had been perfect in every way!  I turned my head and screamed into my pillow, excitement bubbling up again.

Sitting up, I grabbed my laptop and opened the email application.  I had some news to tell my two best friends.  Might as well type the mail up now.  There was no way I was going to be able to sleep in my current condition.

Daniel”s POV

I drove away after seeing Lilly home, feeling refreshed and renewed, even though we’d been dancing all night, all from a simple kiss in the moonlight.  She was so beautiful standing there with her eyes still closed after our kiss, that she stole my breath away.

Looking down into her lovely face I knew that I’d found something special with this girl.  She’d captured my heart the first day I saw her standing behind the counter at the hardware store and tonight just proved my point that love at first sight does in fact exist.

I knew she felt it too.  She was so responsive to my touch, blushing when I smiled at her, laughing at my silly jokes, keeping in step with me as we danced.  I’d never met a girl who danced so perfectly with me before, it was as if we were one person gliding across the floor.

I had fun, honest fun with a girl who asked nothing from me yet gave me so much.  After dodging all these wanna-be mother-in-laws with “perfect daughters” for all these years, Lillian is a breath of fresh air.

One that I hope to be breathing in every day for as long as she’ll let me.